Educational Success for DACA-DREAM Youthhttps://dacadream-edsuccess.org
A Project of MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration PolicyTue, 05 Jan 2016 17:20:45 +0000en
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1 http://wordpress.com/https://s0.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngEducational Success for DACA-DREAM Youthhttps://dacadream-edsuccess.org
Is Your State Aware of the Updated USCIS Language on Qualifying Education Programs?https://dacadream-edsuccess.org/2016/01/05/is-your-state-aware-of-the-updated-uscis-language-on-qualifying-education-programs/
https://dacadream-edsuccess.org/2016/01/05/is-your-state-aware-of-the-updated-uscis-language-on-qualifying-education-programs/#respondTue, 05 Jan 2016 16:39:08 +0000http://dacadream-edsuccess.org/?p=194Continue reading →]]>While the latest numbers from USCIS show that nearly 800,000 individuals have applied for DACA since the program launched, more than half of those potentially eligible to apply still have not done so. Many of those who have not come forward do not meet the program’s education requirement of at least a high school diploma or equivalent and would therefore need to enroll in a qualifying education program to receive DACA. Unfortunately, these individuals are likely to be older and have work and family responsibilities that could present obstacles to enrolling in a program that would help them qualify.

Until mid-2014, the types of programs that could help one qualify for DACA included only a high school equivalency (such as GED) program or “an education, literacy, or career training program (including vocational training) that is designed to lead to placement in postsecondary education, job training, or employment and where you are working toward such placement.” This limited the types of programs aspiring applicants could enroll in to those that led to further education, training, or employment. Updated June 2014 language from USCIS, however, expanded the definition of a qualifying program to “an education, literacy, or career training program (including vocational training) that has a purpose of improving literacy, mathematics, or English or is designed to lead to placement in postsecondary education, job training, or employment.” This change should make it easier for potential applicants to find and enroll in programs that qualify by including those that improve English proficiency or basic skills but don’t necessarily lead to further education or employment.

Despite the fact that this change happened more than a year ago, it appears some states or providers responsible for issuing enrollment verification may not be aware of it. The New York State Department of Education recently updated their guidance on providing employment verification letters—have the Departments of Education in your states issued similar letters?

Expanded options for meeting the educational requirement could help additional youth apply, but outreach will likely be an important part of any efforts to reach the remaining “eligible but for education” population. The Televisa Foundation’s “Think about it” campaign has released a new round of videos, some of which focus on older youth or those that met the program’s education requirement through adult education or an ESL class. In particular, check out Cynthia, Maritza, and Omrie’s stories for great examples of “nontraditional” DACA success stories.

As broader administrative relief programs remain on hold, DACA is still the only way for undocumented youth and young adults to receive work authorization and relief from deportation. Please use the comments section of this post to update the group on any efforts you are involved in or know of that are promoting DACA and education and career progress for DACA youth, and best wishes to all of you for a terrific new year!

DACA can transform lives. A successful application—while by no means a cure-all—can be the first step toward a better job, higher earnings, and freedom from the fear of deportation. These benefits and others uplift not only the lives of the applicants, but those of their families and communities—a driver’s license offers access to more jobs, bank accounts help safely store earnings, and capital allows immigrants to make business investments for themselves or others. Yet for too many would-be beneficiaries, the $465 fee to submit an application is too high a barrier.

To help eligible youth and young adults surmount this obstacle, credit unions across the country have stepped up. Alone and in partnership with philanthropy, dozens of credit unions have created loan programs that promise to not only unlock the benefits of DACA for applicants, but to familiarize immigrants with the mainstream financial services that are the foundation of a secure financial future. These loans can help establish or bolster immigrants’ credit scores, opening the door for future car, student, and business loans, as well as to the financial products that many Americans take for granted: credit cards, mortgages, and retirement accounts.

The first such loan programs were launched primarily by credit unions serving large numbers of immigrants, but these programs are spreading far and wide, including to new immigrant destinations like Iowa and Vermont. Many of these credit unions focus on DACA, but others offer loans for citizenship applications and other immigration-related needs. Most programs are structured as personal loans, with interest rates of 8 to 15 percent.

The following list represents a sampling of the many loan programs located around the country. It is not intended to be comprehensive, and represents only a ‘snapshot in time’ of the current programs available.

With the timeline for resolution of the lawsuit challenging the President’s November 2014 executive actions extending far into the future, and with less than half of those potentially eligible having taken advantage of the original DACA program, the time is ripe to re-focus on the opportunities available under “DACA One”.

Many of you have expressed interest in attempting some coordinated efforts in September and October that will bolster outreach and assistance related to the DACA program, with special emphasis on “non-traditional” applicants and educational advancement. So far those with broad buy-in include: identifying non-traditional DACA youth as case examples/media interviewees; organizing a press conference to emphasize that the original DACA program is unaffected by the admin relief lawsuit and more than 50% of those potentially eligible still to come forward/apply; and hosting a high-profile local application processing event/information session that includes an adult education/career pathway counseling or system navigation element.

We have scheduled a briefing call on Thursday August 20th from 3:30-4:30pm EDT; 2:30-3:30 CDT; 1:30-2:30 MDT; and 12:30-1:30 PDT to get feedback on these ideas and explore additional ideas of ways to move forward in promoting DACA and educational success for DACA-eligible youth. Feel free to post your reactions or ideas here as well, and/or suggest additional items for the call agenda.

You will also see that we’ve added new resources to the website’s Resource Library. They include MPI’s new national, state and county data profiles of the DACA population and our report on implementation of the DACA renewal program; also added are: results from a survey of DACA recipients on the program’s impact; a report on the characteristics and experiences of undocumented undergraduates; background information on Chicago’s efforts to provide access to internships and job opportunities for undocumented youth; and a report on barriers to higher education facing undocumented youth.

Eager to hear your thoughts and to help with efforts that lead to DACA’s promise being realized!

Margie

]]>https://dacadream-edsuccess.org/2015/08/13/learning-network-updates/feed/0nciipcommunicationsResources for DACA Renewers and Briefing Call Recaphttps://dacadream-edsuccess.org/2015/03/24/resources-for-daca-renewers-and-briefing-call-recap/
https://dacadream-edsuccess.org/2015/03/24/resources-for-daca-renewers-and-briefing-call-recap/#respondTue, 24 Mar 2015 21:16:50 +0000http://dacadream-edsuccess.org/?p=147Continue reading →]]>A big thanks to all of you who participated in last month’s briefing call and shared your experience with the DACA renewals process so far. You raised a number of concerns, from the impact of the $465 filing fee to slow USCIS processing times that may put recipients’ employment authorization at risk. We also heard about a lack of awareness among some recipients regarding the need to renew their DACA, the importance of renewing on time, and the proper time to submit their applications.

While many providers have turned their attention to preparing for implementation of the DAPA and expanded DACA programs that are currently tied up in the courts, there are some great resources available specifically to help DACA recipients navigate the renewals process. We have highlighted a few of these resources below, but hope you will help us add to the list with anything your organization has created or found useful. Please take a look and let us know in the comments if there are additional resources you’d like to share!

The American Immigration Lawyers’ Association released three Public Service Announcements for AILA members and the public in order to highlight the importance for DACA grantees to renew within 120-150 days prior to the expiration of their Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and the importance of receiving legal advice before applying for DACA.

The National Immigrant Justice Center has created a DACA Renewal Hub, providing those who sign up with email updates about free DACA clinics, how to renew one’s DACA, and other DACA-related resources.

The National Immigration Law Center offers a DACA Renewal Calculator, where DACA renewal requestors can enter the expiration date of their EAD and learn when their renewal timeframe is.

United We Dream has created a DACA renewal network, providing those who sign up with DACA renewal webinars/broadcasts, a personalized DACA renewal plan, notifications regarding DACA renewal via text and email, an online application tool, and information regarding free or low cost legal assistance.

Please feel free to post additional resources in the comments, and to share your own experiences working with DACA youth as they prepare and submit their renewal applications.

]]>https://dacadream-edsuccess.org/2015/03/24/resources-for-daca-renewers-and-briefing-call-recap/feed/0nciipcommunicationsWelcome!https://dacadream-edsuccess.org/2015/03/11/welcome/
https://dacadream-edsuccess.org/2015/03/11/welcome/#respondWed, 11 Mar 2015 17:20:13 +0000http://dacadream-edsuccess.org/?p=78Continue reading →]]>Welcome to the blog of the Network on Educational Success for DACA-DREAM Youth. The purpose of this blog is to explore challenges and opportunities associated with improving the educational success of DACA-DREAM youth. Upcoming posts will examine an array of promising practices and program models, as well as pose questions and topics for discussion related to educational access and attainment for potentially-eligible DACA youth. We hope you will share your knowledge by leaving comments, posing questions for the group and proposing topics for future posts.
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